• GROUNDWATER PROTECTIONS: As Governor, I called for, and signed into law, a bill that ensures communities will have access to the clean water for their citizens and for future generations.
• GREAT LAKES PROTECTION: We made history with the passage of the Great Lakes Compact, ensuring the protection of the world's largest fresh water basin for generations to come.
• WATER QUALITY: We made it a priority to clean up PCBs and polluted sediment in our water. Projects like the Kinnickinnic River clean-up in Milwaukee and the St. Louis River in Superior and Duluth are now complete. And after years of lawsuits, major dredging finally began on the Lower Fox River, the largest river clean-up in U.S. history.
• INVASIVE SPECIES: In my budgets, we have tripled funding to fight aquatic invasive species and launched a program to help communities and organizations stop their spread.
A522
• CARP BARRIER: We have worked with other Midwest Governors and the federal government to construct a barrier to keep Asian Carp out of Lake Michigan, providing more than $67,000 in DNR resources.
• SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY MANAGEMENT: For the first time, we have developed Biomass Harvest Guidelines to ensure our forests are managed sustainably, allowing harvesting for our paper industry and emerging bio-fuels while maintaining our forests for future generations.
• FOREST CERTIFICATION: We made forest certification an important part of my Grow Wisconsin initiative. Now all Wisconsin state and county forest land has been third-party certified as sustainable, providing a competitive edge in this green industry and assuring citizens that our forest resources will be available in the future.
A board appointed Secretary could not have achieved these and other important environmental measures alone. A Secretary alone could not have brought together Governors from eight states to pass the Great Lakes Compact. A Secretary alone could not have prioritized and expanded Stewardship funds during tough budget times. A Secretary alone could not have moved forward major air quality measures. But working with a direct line to the Governor, major environmental progress is possible.
The DNR Secretary is also an integral part of a Governor's Cabinet, playing a regular and key role in interagency projects. The DNR sits on the Governor's BioCabinet, developing new policies to grow green jobs in Wisconsin and practices to conserve energy. In June 2008, the DNR worked closely with the Department of Transportation to respond to massive flooding, working with DOT to quickly restore Lake Delton after the lake was drained due to historic floods. The Cabinet, and state government, is able to do more with the DNR at the table.
Finally, a Secretary appointed by the Governor ensures a direct line of accountability for citizens concerned about the natural resources policy of the State of Wisconsin. All Cabinet agencies provide critical functions, yet no one suggests the Secretaries of Revenue or Health Services should not be accountable to the Governor and the people of the state. While sound science, data and citizen input will always be the guiding forces of decision making at the DNR, voters choose a Governor because they agree with the vision he or she has for the entire state-including protecting natural resources.
Over the past 50 years, the scope of the departments authority to protect natural resources has grown dramatically. With this comes great responsibility to exercise power wisely. When the department is part of the Governor's Administration, the Governor is directly responsible for decisions made by the department.
When I ran for office I pledged to be a strong defender of the environment, to reform our regulatory process, to work to remove mercury from our air, to expand the Stewardship program, to increase the use of biofuels and move towards energy independence. I believe we were able to accomplish these and other major environmental efforts because a Governor was working closely with a Governor-appointed DNR Secretary.
Respectfully submitted,
Jim Doyle
Governor
__________________
Communications
November 13, 2009
Patrick Fuller
Assembly Chief Clerk
17 West Main Street, Suite 401
Madison, WI 53703
Dear Chief Clerk Fuller:
Due to my absence during session on November 5, 2009, I am writing to indicate how I would have voted on the bills that were taken up before the Assembly on that day.
November 5, 2009
Senate Bill 223, concurrence - no
Senate Bill 41, concurrence - no
Assembly Bill 403, adoption - aye
Senate Bill 331
Tabling of AA 1 - no
Tabling of AA 2 - no
Tabling of AA 3 - no
Tabling of AA 5 - no
Tabling of AA 6 - no
Tabling of AA 7 - no
Tabling of AA 8 - no
Tabling of AA 9 - no
Tabling of AA 10 - no
Tabling of AA 11 - no
Senate Bill 331, concurrence - aye
Senate Bill 371
Tabling of AA 1 - aye
Tabling of AA 2 - aye
Senate Bill 371 concurrence - aye
Senate Bill 370, concurrence - aye
Assembly Bill 138
Senate Amendment 1, concurrence - no
Senate Bill 372
Tabling of AA 1 - no
Tabling of AA 2 - no
Senate Bill 372, concurrence - no
Assembly Bill 75 Partial Item Veto D-6, withdrawn from Rules - aye
Sincerely,
Mark Honadel
State Representative
21st Assembly District
